San Perregrino

I don’t think that either fatness or physical ugliness are being equated with wickedness as such. Surely by having Skinny & Dumpy as the stepsisters ie one of each archetype of physical form Bintley is showing us that the ugliness is of the spirit within a person and that the ‘outside’ appearance of a person is no guide to character and as such can take any shape or form.

Lukas BB held the stage in Act 3 and was entirely convincing in his debut as the gaoler. He managed to manhandle Manon simultaneously with a lofty contempt and an uncontrollable lust.

I’ve been reflecting on this. As part of a narrative story I think that it is acceptable to have characters behaving towards other characters in ways that wouldn’t be acceptable in real life. Because behaviour is considered unacceptable in real life doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. The best way to perpetuate a behaviour is to deny it happens. As such, by highlighting such behaviour the Arts play an important role in bringing it into the spotlight for debate and discussion. Fairy stories and fables contain important morals, messages and examples of how to and how not to behave for children and adults of all ages. This is one reason why they endure down the generations. If one were to remove all the unpleasant and unacceptable themes in Cinderella one would be left with very little. There is domestic slavery (Cinderella is prisoner in her own home) bullying (the step sisters bully Cinderella, their stepfather and the tradespeople), coercive control and domestic abuse, (stepsisters and, where there is a stepmother her too), (Cinderella is not allowed her freedom nor freedom of choice) and attempted fraud/deception (stepmother and & stepsisters pretend to be the rightful owner of the glass slipper) to give a but a few examples Surely far better to stage a ballet which brings to life the ‘elephants in the room’ and promotes healthy discussion perhaps thereby changing peoples’ behaviour for the better than to pretend these things don’t exist. After all, the stepsisters (and stepmother) do not profit from their bad and antisocial behaviours. In Cinderella, good triumphs over bad. If only this were the case in real life.

The sisters in the BRB production are called Skinny and Dumpy and are costumed accordingly. So, if I understand correctly, what you’’re actually asking is whether the story of a ballet created in 2010 that reflected Prokovievs original 1945 narrative needs to be changed to accommodate present day sensitivities?

Dancers wear padding of various thicknesses to create and become all sorts of diverse characters in many ballets. e.g. in the RB Cinderella the step-sisters wore padding, and there is also Napoleon and Wellington amongst others. Don Quixote & Sancho Panchez wear padding in Don Q. And so does Widow Simone in La Fille. The courtiers & suitors in Sleeping Beauty, the ambassadors in Swan Lake. The party guests in The Nutcracker….. the list goes on and on.

RAH Nutcracker is also onsale

Though they are more often than not danced by principals, I can envisage the two leads in Fille as providing ideal opportunities for the younger gifted dancers of a Company such as Clara & Hans-Peter do in The Nutcracker. The BRB reel has Monaghan as Colas in the last run (2018?) whilst he was only made up to principal in 2023 so there is a precedent.

Looking forward, I’m hoping that Enrique Bejarano Vidal will have a chance to dance Colas.

The way scheduling seems to go with RB, BRB and ENB these days would suggest the odds are at least ‘even’ for an RB production too.

BRB have Luna scheduled for 22/10 and 23/10 and then Fille for 24/10 & 25/10. Nothing is scheduled as yet for Saturday 26/10 which gives the possibility to play the “sold out in record time, extra dates added by popular demand” ruse for either production. That said, last time I saw BRB dance Fille at Sadlers Wells (Nov 2018?), it was in a half empty theatre so although popular among Forum members, perhaps it’s not the show to attract big London audiences. It may well be in competition for ticket sales with the RB too who has yet to declare its hand for 2024/2025. Hats off to Carlos for bringing it back to the stage.

Yes, a new commission ‘Luna’, a 2-act (full-length), abstract ballet in six movements, which forms the final part of Carlos’s Birmingham Trilogy (City of a Thousand Trades + Black Sabbath + Luna). This new work is inspired by the pioneering and socially enterprising women of Birmingham who have contributed to the shape of the city that Birmingham Royal Ballet calls home.

I’ve checked back and I paid £80 for balcony right a64 in 2018. ‘Twil be interesting to see what this year’s price will be…

PET SHOP BOYS return: 23–27 July 2024 / Main Stage After their euphoric concert in 2018, the UK's most successful music duo returns to the Royal Opera House with their spectacular show Dreamworld: The Greatest Hits Live. In an exhilarating performance featuring dazzling visual backdrops, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe perform classic songs from their catalogue of hits spanning 40 years, including: 'West End Girls', 'Suburbia', 'Opportunities (Let’s make lots of money)', 'Left to my own devices', 'Rent', 'Domino dancing', 'Love comes quickly', 'Always on my mind', 'What have I done to deserve this?' and 'It's a sin'. General sale begins on Friday 16th February at 10am GMT.

It's gratifying to see that demand for ballet in Southampton has had a last minute surge. When I looked last week there were plenty of tickets available. Now, the seatscape has changed and the Balcony has gone onsale for Thursday 8th & Saturday 10th matinee shows as the Stalls & Circle have sold out.

£35 for a tall stool seat in the balcony row C. (half a dozen available).

i don’t know the ballets included in the MacMillan triple bill. perhaps, in the grand scheme of things compared say, to one of his narrative ballets where titular roles can make or break an evening**, the casting for the MacMillan triple bill is relatively unimportant? ** that said, with the RB, I can’t remember ever having left the ROH being disappointed when circumstances have resulted in cast changes.

The named characters are as follows: Carmen Don José The child Escamillo Zuniga

Oops so I am. Apologies. 7th Feb is Natalia Osipova/Reece Clarke in Manon. Sometimes I’d like to clone myself.

Unfortunately this event clashes with the only public Swan Lake with Cesar Corrales & Mayara Magri at the ROH.

My experience as a Producer was to oversee the whole production, solving problems that arose, particularly to raise funding and if there was a shortfall to write a cheque. Only if there was a profit did I receive anything equivalent to a salary. Admittedly this was in the field of commercial rather than subsidised theatre.

I rang the box office. I'm assured that there will be a live accompaniment to Cinderella though not of the size needed for Sleeping Beauty hence rows A-C onsale. Rows AA, BB & CC remain off sale and will accommodate the musicians. phew!

Praised by audiences and critics alike, former Company Director David Bintley’s Cinderella is a sure-fire mix of wonderful dance, spectacular scenery, and a cast of characters that include mice, lizards and even a dancing frog – something to capture every imagination.

interestingly, rows A,B & C are onsale for this production. whenever I've visited the Mayflower to watch ENB or BRB (including next weekend for Sleeping Beauty), the front row has been D. any further forward and you are sitting amongst the orchestra. does the selling of rows A,B & C mean the absence of live music for this production?, does it mean a smaller orchestra squeezed into a smaller space?, or perhaps it mean a roving orchestra onstage circulating amongst the dancers? I sincerely hope that the BRB Sinfonia will be playing live. However, whereas the 'product description' for Sleeping Beauty includes "and Tchaikovsky's glorious music played live by the acclaimed Royal Ballet Sinfonia." , the 'product description' for Cinderella has no such inclusion. Interestingly, ticket prices are more or less unchanged from year to year so is this a case of SHRINKFLATION....?

BRB revised castings for Sleeping Beauty are now on its website. César is currently listed for the 22/2 matinee and 28/2 evening performances at the Hippodrome.

Casting for the Duets programme in the Clore Studio on Sunday 25th February at 1pm, 3pm & 5pm is now on the ROH website: BACKGROUND Emerging choreographers come together in the Clore Studio to present short duets created for the Festival of New Choreography. Duets is a fantastic opportunity to see new work up close, featuring dancers and choreographers from several national companies including The Royal Ballet. The Royal Ballet New Work Dancers Martin Diaz and Caspar Lench Choreography Denilson Almeida Music Cordeiro de Nana by João Gilberto, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, Pesar do Mundo by Caetano Veloso and José Miguel Wisnik English National Ballet Cha Cha and Tiara Dancers Julia Conway and Miguel Angel Maidana Choreography Rentaro Nakaaki Music La Cumparsita by Xavier Cugat New Work Dancers Aitor Arrieta and Breanna Foad Choreography Breanna Foad Music AEIOU by Judd Greenstein Northern Ballet Out of Breath Dancers Alessandra Bramante and Joseph Taylor Choreography George Liang Music Undone by Olafur Arnalds Studio Wayne McGregor OTHER Dancers Rebecca Bassett-Graham and Eileih Muir Choreography Jordan James Bridge in collaboration with the dancers Music Valgeir Sigurdsson New Work Dancers Hannah Joseph and Elaini Koula Lalousis Choreography Hannah Joseph